This week, Old Forester Distilling Co. released the latest edition in its 117 Series: a double-barreled bourbon that stayed in the second barrel for an unusually long time. Per the brand, the result is a bourbon of exceptional quality with pronounced sweet and spice notes. Old Forester took its 1910 expression and aged it in […]
This week, Old Forester Distilling Co. released the latest edition in its 117 Series: a double-barreled bourbon that stayed in the second barrel for an unusually long time.
Per the brand, the result is a bourbon of exceptional quality with pronounced sweet and spice notes.
Old Forester took its 1910 expression and aged it in a second barrel for 24 months.
“This expression was born from a creative and innovative experiment while staying true to the classic taste which sets Old Forester apart,” Rift said. “Although I only joined Old Forester last month, this was one of the first new limited expressions I was honored to taste – and the extra long double barreling leads to an explosion of flavors.”
Old Forester 1910 commemorates the October 22, 1910 distillery fire at 117 Main Street. A batch of mature whiskey ready to be bottled was instead re-barreled in new barrels for removal due to the fire damage. What emerged was a full-bodied whisky, remarkable enough to become an entirely new expression – Old Fine Whisky.
For Extra Extra Old, the brand experimented by leaving the 1910 whisky in the heavily charred secondary barrel for two years.
Old Forester Extra Extra Old is bottled at 93 proof and will be released in very limited quantities for purchase today at the Old Forester Distillery and in our online store. It will also be available at select Kentucky retailers. Guests visiting the distillery on paid experiences between December 13 and December 23 will have the opportunity to purchase a bottle, in accordance with the distillery’s special release policy.
A catastrophic fire followed by a ground breaking ceremony, in that order, just a few weeks apart. 2015 was a particularly busy year for Old Forester. I remember attending the official ground breaking ceremony in downtown Louisville that year for what is now the Old Forester Distilling Co, a $45M+ 70,000 sq. ft. visitor experience […]
A catastrophic fire followed by a ground breaking ceremony, in that order, just a few weeks apart. 2015 was a particularly busy year for Old Forester.
July 2015, Whiskey Row Fire. Photo by Pat McDonogh, Courier-Journal
I remember attending the official ground breaking ceremony in downtown Louisville that year for what is now the Old Forester Distilling Co, a $45M+ 70,000 sq. ft. visitor experience equipped with both a barrel cooperage and urban rickhouse, the only tour offering both under one roof.
What I had forgotten about was the frightful fire that just two weeks prior consumed and threatened the entire block of the historic building district known affectionately as Whiskey Row. Talk about a minor set back.
This would have been a devastating loss to an irreplaceable piece of Bourbon history as “Whisky Row” (1852 – 1905), 101 – 133 W. Main St, was a colossal hub for whiskey barrel storage to countless nearby distilleries, including to Brown-Forman. Also architecturally historic, it is the second largest cast-iron building façade structure in the US, only behind NYC’s Soho district.
Today, Old Forester Distilling Co. has announced the release of the newest installment of The 117 Series – “Whiskey Row Fire.”
This commemorative bottle honors the 7th anniversary of the infamous fire on Whiskey Row.
“I remember that day and that fire vividly,” Louisville Fire
Chief Greg Frederick said. “We are extremely proud of our brave firefighters
who risked their lives and saved the block.”
On July 7, 2015, a four-alarm fire ravaged the buildings on historic
Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville. Teams of brave Louisville first responders
were able to contain and extinguish the catastrophe, preserving the site for
the Old Forester Distillery at 117/119 West Main. The block is now home to
restaurants, bars, a hotel and other businesses – and has become a tourist
destination.
In 2020, men and women of
Louisville Fire, many of whom fought the blaze, selected eight single barrels
from a lot filled the same day they extinguished the fire. All 8 barrels sold out in two days and
proceeds were donated to the Louisville Firefighter Disaster Fund.
The remainder of the barrels filled that day slumbered an additional two years in the warehouse and are now batched together to create the 117 Series – Fireman Barrels.
Per the brand, at nearly 7 years old – these barrels are fully mature and wise in character.
Today, Frederick and Louisville Fire Department members were special
guests of Old Forester and toured the distillery. In addition, Old Forester is
making a charity donation to the Louisville Fire Department to help
firefighters who are in distress.
The 117 Series is a limited-expression lineup that debuted in Spring
2021.
Old Forester Whiskey Row Fire is bottled at 100 proof and will be available starting July 7th at the retail shop at Old Forester Distilling Co. for $59.99 in limited quantities.
Aroma: Sweet notes of honey comb, malt and marzipan
mingle with delicate cedar and fresh oak notes atop cherries laced with vanilla
cream.
Flavor: Brown sugar, marzipan, vanilla and honey
sweeten a mix of berry fruit.
Finish: Long notes of honey and vanilla linger with a
touch of fruit.
About the 117 Series:
The 117 Series offers a deep dive, or deconstruction, on how either
the individual Old Forester Whiskey Row Series expressions are crafted or
highlights other historical moments of Old Forester’s history on W. Main
Street.
About Brown-Forman:
For 152 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has built global powerhouse brands including: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s & Cola, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, Finlandia, Korbel, el Jimador, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Herradura, New Mix, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chambord, BenRiach, GlenDronach, Slane, and Fords Gin. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by over 4,800 employees and sold in more than 170 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit https://www.brown-forman.com/.
About Old Forester
Bourbon:
Old Forester is Brown-Forman’s founding brand, founded in 1870 by
George Garvin Brown. Brown believed Old Forester was so pure and consistent
that he sealed it, signed it, and pledged, “There is nothing better in the
market.”
